NFL Teams Cutting Football Players From Roster

The NFL has a policy where each team can only have a total of 53 football players on their roster by the time the regular season begins. However, each team does have a little bit of time before they have to cut a big chunk of their roster, so they can pick and stick with only the best. The first stage would be team’s trimming the roster down to 75 total players by September 1, and then they would proceed to eliminate even more to get down to 53 players by September 5.

You can check out the latest cuts at the official NFL website tracker, as there are too many names to mention. Each team started their summer camps with 90 players and will have to release 47 players in total; that is a little over 1,500 players that will need to re-evaluate their options when it comes to playing in this sport. It is not all bad, as there are several options that players can take advantage of when they are let go.

Players that are released from their team will have the chance to show their skills and abilities to other teams, and if they are good enough, they may get picked for that team’s 53-man roster. They also have the opportunity of being part of the eight-man practice squads that each team gets, so that is an additional 256 positions that can be filled. In order to be eligible for the practice squads during the 2015 season the players must fill these requirements:

Players that are released from their team will have the chance to show their skills and abilities to other teams, and if they are good enough, they may get picked for that team’s 53-man roster. They also have the opportunity of being part of the eight-man practice squads that each team gets, so that is an additional 256 positions that can be filled. In order to be eligible for the practice squads during the 2015 season the players must fill these requirements:

Unlike players on the 53-man roster, practice squad players are paid weekly and can be released at any time.

Any team is free to sign any player from another team’s practice squad if they are added to the 53-man roster. Players cannot be signed from one practice squad and placed onto another.

Upcoming opponents cannot sign players from the opposing team’s practice squad unless they are signed at least six days before the game or 10 days prior to the game coming off of a bye week.

Once signed to an active roster (be it by the same team or after being signed by another) the player is guaranteed at least three paychecks, regardless of whether or not they actually stick for three games.

Only players who have passed through waivers are eligible to sign to a practice squad.

On top of these, there are other requirements on how a player becomes eligible to be on the practice squad. It is a hard process, but players that wish to continue playing will need to also fulfill these requirements:

All players who have not accrued a full year of NFL service are eligible to be added to the practice squad. One year of accrued NFL service is acquired by being active for six games.

If a player spends less than nine games on a team’s active 45-man game day roster, they are still eligible for the practice squad, even if they have picked up one year of NFL service.

Players are eligible to be on the practice squad for two years. One year on the practice squad is equal to three weeks.

Teams have to look long and hard when they are cutting their football players, as some have valuable experience, while others still have good performance years still left. Don’t be surprised if you see a few veteran players get cut that have been vital for the team’s success in the past. This is done to make room for the newer generations.